The Cowboys could have some drama on their hands soon, and it’s primarily with Rolando McClain and Dez Bryant. One player wants to be a Cowboy for life and the other is essentially signed for a 1-yr “show me you want to be here” deal.
Today is was reported by Chris Mortenson that Bryant is willing to sit out the season opener if a long term deal is not reached by July 15th.
Mike Silver also confirmed the report from straight from Dez Bryant himself
Dez Bryant willing to sit out Week 1 of the 2015 season (via @MikeSilver): http://t.co/fvnqTbp7vr pic.twitter.com/dcHBJgqqeZ
— NFL (@nfl) June 12, 2015
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For me, this is the business side of the NFL, and these shots over the bow are all part of the negotiating process. I’m not worried about this; however, I do see more of these reports potentially coming out before the July 15th deadline. Ultimately, the Cowboys and Dez will come to some agreement that will make Dez a Cowboy for life. Worst case, Dez signs the tender and he’ll play week 1. He cannot stay away from the field and teammates.
The concern that the Cowboys are more likely to face is with McClain and there’s mounting rumblings amongst fans that we could be on the verge of a McClain mental break down again. Fans wait him to be in Dallas, not Alabama, and they want to know he’s going to be at the minicamp, anything less will surely fuel the fire more.
We know McClain missed OTAs due to having his knee repaired, which is totally understandable. But now we’re going to see where this thing is heading. The Cowboys expect McClain to attend the mandatory minicamp which starts Tuesday, the 16th. Jason Garrett was asked during his press conference if McClain would attend minicamp and is answer was telling, but more evident if you watched the press conference. Watching Garrett’s press conferences as the head coach over the years he has a certain demeanor and certain way he vocalizes displeasure.
“Well, the minicamp is mandatory,” Garrett told reporters Wednesday afternoon. “It’s the only thing in the offseason that is mandatory, so it’s important for us to make sure that’s clear to everybody and express that to our players. There are some specific situations where things that you do in a mandatory fashion don’t always happen. You know players miss practice during the season for different reasons and those are mandatory. So we’ll work through the specific situations as we go. Rolando is doing a good job with his rehab, and we’ll see what his plans are for next week.” (NBCDFW)
When asked directly if McClain would show up next week, Garrett said, “Yeah, I don’t want to get into much more detail than that.” (ESPN, Archer)
If McClain does not attend minicamp he’ll be fined. McClain has already been fined four games for his latest failed drug test. There’s a legitimate concern and wonder where McClain is at mentally right now. Are we going to see another situation where he retires suddenly again? We’ll see where this goes next week.
The Cowboys have done a great job with McClain’s contract and have protections in place financially and on the field with the free agents and draft picks they have added in the offseason.
I want McClain in Dallas, he has a violent style that goes well with what the Cowboys are doing on defense. So for me, I’m hoping these little blips are nothing to worry about, but at the same time, nothing will surprise me if this situation goes south fast.
What do you think, are you concerned about either situation with Dez or Rolando?
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